§ ≡ A section of Preserve, Protect, and Defend: Faithfully Executing the Office of the President
{Section 2.1 « Section 2.2 » Section 2.3}
Grant receives his commission as
Lieutenant General from Lincoln
The POTUS, also known as the "leader of the free world", must know when to impose his will and when to delegate discretionary power to trusted subordinates, such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his Cabinet Secretaries. The POTUS must, therefore, make intelligent appointments to literally thousands of leadership positions in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and in the U. S. Armed Forces, either directly or indirectly through his higher level appointees.
Ultimately, as Chief Executive of his Nation, the POTUS must be able to rally the Nation's citizenry. Pandering to the people's baser instincts and their narcissistic tendencies is not leadership. Leadership is the ability to persuade the people, by strength of character and clarity of vision, to follow a possibly difficult course of action, if the Nation's security and its welfare, including that of its future generations, require the exercise of duty and sacrifice. President Kennedy characterized such leadership eloquently: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
{Section 2.1 « Section 2.2 » Section 2.3}
Grant receives his commission as
Lieutenant General from Lincoln
"The role of a leader, sending others into action instead of acting himself, evolved in society relatively late. [...] And it was fairly recently in the history of warfare that the top military commander no longer inspired the troops with his personal front-line courage but guided the battle from the rear. [...] A wise leader knows when to step in and impose his will and when to step back and let his lieutenants display their own initiative." — Elkhonon Goldberg, The Executive Brain: Frontal Lobes and the Civilized MindA wise leader is, first and foremost, wise. Indeed, unwise leadership is a contradiction in terms. This applies not only to military leadership but to all forms of executive leadership — its (modern) principal attribute is wisdom.
The POTUS, also known as the "leader of the free world", must know when to impose his will and when to delegate discretionary power to trusted subordinates, such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff and his Cabinet Secretaries. The POTUS must, therefore, make intelligent appointments to literally thousands of leadership positions in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and in the U. S. Armed Forces, either directly or indirectly through his higher level appointees.
Ultimately, as Chief Executive of his Nation, the POTUS must be able to rally the Nation's citizenry. Pandering to the people's baser instincts and their narcissistic tendencies is not leadership. Leadership is the ability to persuade the people, by strength of character and clarity of vision, to follow a possibly difficult course of action, if the Nation's security and its welfare, including that of its future generations, require the exercise of duty and sacrifice. President Kennedy characterized such leadership eloquently: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
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